The effects of capitalism are felt deeply within society and students are no exception. The mental health crisis worsens, with one in five people aged 8 to 25 having a probable mental health condition as of 2023. One in every 200 families in the UK is experiencing homelessness, and this will rise as housing prices increase. Tuition fees for universities are set to increase, despite half of all universities cutting staff jobs and student courses, resulting in up to 10,000 redundancies.
By Jacob Blong
However, students are choosing to fight back. At the moment, the issue of the genocide of the Palestinians is a central rallying point. An open letter has been signed by over 180 elected sabbatical officers and student groups representing 52 campuses across the country, threatening to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS). This is in response to their refusal to acknowledge the ongoing slaughter of the Palestinian people, and their lack of support for the students mobilising against the genocide, who are met by repression from their universities.
These universities have levied suspensions and expulsions against students who show support for the people of Gaza, as well as using the police and courts to intimidate their own students into submission. It is estimated that universities have invested £450 million into companies complicit in the genocide, with these universities in return receiving large sums of money through shares. These companies include weapons manufacturers and other companies which directly facilitate the massacre of Palestinians and the theft of their land. It’s clear to see that the tuition fees that students pay are used to fund a genocide and line the pockets of the administration, while the same students are arrested and their staff are fired.
We have seen the potential power the students have through the encampments that took place, but an organised effort on behalf of all student unions could take this much further. If the NUS won’t take a lead in coordinating the fightback, left-led Students’ Unions and activist groups on campus should come together to coordinate across campuses. This should be connected to a broader fight for free education, fully funded student grants, an end to university marketisation, and for genuine, bottom-up, democratic control of higher education for all.
The new party and students
The new left party announced by Corbyn and Zarah Sultana also offers a long-overdue opportunity to connect struggles like this to the wider struggles of the working class, including linking up with other campaigns against the ramping up of repression across society. Groups should be built on every campus for student supporters of Your Party to kickstart this work.
At the same time, we must understand the reason for universities’ investment into the genocide, and for the government’s support of the Israeli regime, is the capitalist system. Cuts to higher education mean that universities rely more and more on private funding, and university leaderships are consequently acting in the interests of their funders and partner companies rather than in the interest of their students and staff. Students and staff need to come together to fight back against these private interests.
But ultimately, without a society led by workers, in which people are put before profit, wars and imperialism will continue. The new party must fight for this new system, for a break from capitalism. If you agree, join Socialist Alternative to fight for a united struggle that encompasses all causes, from Gaza to LGBTQ+ rights, armed with socialist policies.
